I brought home a Swan SW-120 tranceiver from the estate of an old
friend. The radio has significance to me because of who owned it, as
well as it being the first of the Swan tranceivers. I would like to
refurbish it.

The radio appears to have been left uncovered on a shelf in the garage
for many years, and is very dirty on the inside. I have cleaned a lot
of newer, solid-state equipment by simply giving them a good scrubbing
with dish washing detergent and warm water followed by a thorough
rinsing with a hose. I then let the chassis sit out in the sun until
it is very dry. I don't think that would be such a good idea with an
older tube-type radio. Things like meters, relays, transformers and
switches could be damaged by submersing them in soapy water.

What is the recommended cleaning procedure for older equipment? Is
there a ham radio website that discusses refurbishing?

Dick

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Dick" wrote in message
...
I brought home a Swan SW-120 tranceiver from the estate of an old
friend. The radio has significance to me because of who owned it, as
well as it being the first of the Swan tranceivers. I would like to
refurbish it.

The radio appears to have been left uncovered on a shelf in the garage
for many years, and is very dirty on the inside. I have cleaned a lot
of newer, solid-state equipment by simply giving them a good scrubbing
with dish washing detergent and warm water followed by a thorough
rinsing with a hose. I then let the chassis sit out in the sun until
it is very dry. I don't think that would be such a good idea with an
older tube-type radio. Things like meters, relays, transformers and
switches could be damaged by submersing them in soapy water.

What is the recommended cleaning procedure for older equipment? Is
there a ham radio website that discusses refurbishing?

Dick

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Dick - try
Frequently Asked Questions - about vintage tube-type ham radio and
communications equipment

URL:
http://www.virhistory.com/ham/rrab.faq.htm

Also URL:
http://ac6v.com/BCTV.htm#REST

Good Luck
Lamont

"Dick" wrote in message
...
I brought home a Swan SW-120 tranceiver from the estate of
an old
friend. The radio has significance to me because of who
owned it, as
well as it being the first of the Swan tranceivers. I
would like to
refurbish it.

The radio appears to have been left uncovered on a shelf
in the garage
for many years, and is very dirty on the inside. I have
cleaned a lot
of newer, solid-state equipment by simply giving them a
good scrubbing
with dish washing detergent and warm water followed by a
thorough
rinsing with a hose. I then let the chassis sit out in
the sun until
it is very dry. I don't think that would be such a good
idea with an
older tube-type radio. Things like meters, relays,
transformers and
switches could be damaged by submersing them in soapy
water.

What is the recommended cleaning procedure for older
equipment? Is
there a ham radio website that discusses refurbishing?

Dick

I worked for Hewlett-Packard many years ago. We
routinely washed equipment by spraying it out using a paint
sprayer and a solution of plain dishwashing detergent along
with a couple of brushes. After washing the equipment was
rinsed off with a hose and then blown out with air. After
that it was baked in an electric oven running at about 130F
for a few days. Of course all meters etc were removed.
_Sealed_ transformers and chokes should also be removed
because they can have small leaks which allow some moisture
to enter which will not bake out. Any moisture trapped
inside can cause arcing and the loss of the coil.
There might be problems with parts like IF cans with
paper coil formers and possibly with ferrite slugs.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

by submersing them in soapy water.

What is the recommended cleaning procedure for older equipment? Is
there a ham radio website that discusses refurbishing?


I used to 'wash' radios in a large downstairs kitchen sink (where my Mom
would make pickles!) when I was a teen - large sink filled with warm
lightly-soapy water - and let the entire radio soak (transformers and all)
for an hour or more, gently sponging the goo off bit by bit. All the
smoker's goo and age dust came off just fine in that time.

But the important part was letting it DRY. A LONG TIME. I would
let the rig dry for about 3 weeks before trying to power it up! (This was
in summer - maybe in winter I would wait longer).

Worked great on a Swan Cygnet 260 and a Hallicrafters S-85 receiver,
both of which I used for several years after. No problems at all after
full immersion in water. But patience is the key!!

The key was letting it THOROUGHLY DRY, including the inside of all
transformers (power and IF).

Dave